Day 11: The First Day of Meetings by Alex Huen

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July 10th , 2019

The First Day of Meetings
by Alex Huen

The past week has been nothing but eventful. Through visiting historical sites such as the African American History Museum and the Washington Monument, I learned a great deal about the culture of D.C. After the hectic metro ride, the first sight of seeing Capitol Hill was breathtaking and I really admired the beauty of the architecture. I have been particularly fond of my first visit to Washington D.C.
As a group, we have learned a lot about our environment and fun times have passed by quickly. While our activities in California were academic and technically oriented, exercises in D.C. took a 180-degree turn as business and politics kicks in. Besides learning about the fundamentals of climate changes, we were also taught lobbying skills. It is evident that environmental issues as a science will not be applicable in real-world situations without political support.
Before our first round of meetings, we listened to a presentation from “Students for Carbon Dividend”. Approaching the meeting time, we went through security and waited at the lobby outside of the congressman office. Not knowing what is about to happen, the group collectively experienced a sense of anxiety. Our nervousness dissipated as soon as the meeting started. Instead of taking place in the office, the meeting actually took place in the lobby which I’m sure is where the American term “lobbying” or “lobbyist” came about.
Having this first meeting allowed me to have a sense of what real lobbying feels like, and it also taught me to never expect the best case scenario. While the meeting could have been more interactive, I thought that our group did an amazing job of getting our point across. We each did our assigned roles well, which helped us foster the skill of teamwork and improvisation. I really hope that the experience I had today will better equip me for other similar encounters.
Peter, Alex, and Robert on their way to meet with their representatives. 


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